Wii U sells 400,000 US units in launch week

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has revealed US sales figures for Wii U during its launch week.

The hardware sold 400,000 units in the US, with Nintendo also sharing with CNET that 300,000 Wii consoles and 500,000 portable systems (3DS and DS) were sold during the period. That puts Nintendo's total for the holiday week at 1.2m units across its devices.

"Wii U is essentially sold out of retail and we are doing our best to continually replenish stock," Fils-Aime said. "Retailers are also doing their best to get the product to store shelves. But as soon as product hits retail, they're selling out immediately."

In comparison, Wii sold 475,000 units in the US during its launch week. Based on the 500,000 Wii U pre-orders reported earlier this month by Gamestop alone though, it seems a lack of stock is the main reason the console didn't quite match its predecessor out of the gate.